Brickell Pizza by the Slice Until 6 am: Rockboy Pizza

Rockboy Pizza, at 30 Southwest 8th Street in Brickell, is built for the hours when the rest of the neighborhood has gone dark. It sells New York-style pizza by the slice and by the pie, and its own website lists closing times of 5 am from Sunday to Thursday and 6 am on Friday and Saturday. The headline slice on the menu is a thick Sicilian square at $7.49, and the kitchen also turns out Venezuelan-style empanadas and gyro platters for anyone who wants more than pizza.

The shop describes itself as making bold, handcrafted New York-style pizza right in the heart of Miami's Brickell neighborhood, and calls itself your go-to spot when the city's asleep. That is the real identity of Rockboy. Brickell has plenty of polished restaurants and rooftop bars, but very few kitchens that keep cooking until sunrise, and the long hours are what make this small counter useful.

The menu reflects the neighborhood too. Brickell is one of the most international parts of Miami, and alongside the pizza you will find empanadas listed as Venezuelan style, lamb gyros and pasta. It is a menu designed for a group that cannot agree on what to eat at 3 am, where one person wants a slice, another wants a gyro and a third just wants garlic knots.

Start with the Sicilian Slice, $7.49 on the menu. It is a thick-crust Sicilian or deep-dish square, and you can add your favorite toppings for an extra charge. The thick base holds up well to a long walk home, which is not true of every thin slice, and it is filling enough that one is plenty for a late snack.

For a full pie, the build-your-own pizza is priced by size. It starts at $13.99 for a 12-inch pie and goes to $17.99 for 16 inches and $19.99 for 18 inches. The giant sizes are meant for parties: $39.99 for 24 inches and $55.99 for a 28-inch pie. The specialty pies, including Rocco's BBQ, Rockboy's Ultimate and Bella's Margarita, share one price ladder, from $19.98 for a 12-inch small to $69.98 for the 28-inch Super Giant.

The extras are where the menu gets interesting. Garlic knots are $1.49 each or $6.99 for six. Empanadas are $5.99 each, made Venezuelan style, and ten wings cost $17.99. The Lamb Gyro Platter is $18.99, the Rockboy Steak Sub is $15.99, stromboli runs $13.99 small or $19.99 large, and Alfredo pasta is $14.99. An order of knots and a couple of empanadas next to a Sicilian slice makes a very good shared late meal.

Choosing a size is mostly about the number of people and the hour. A 16-inch build-your-own pie at $17.99 suits two or three hungry people, while the 24-inch and 28-inch pies are aimed at a whole apartment of friends after a night out. Because the specialty pies cost the same whichever recipe you pick, it makes sense to choose the one with the toppings you would have paid extra for anyway, such as the meat-heavy Rockboy's Ultimate.

Rockboy posts its deals on a specials page that changes through the week. On weekdays there is a lunch special of one slice or two slices with a drink, which is aimed at Brickell office workers. In the evening, Combo 1 bundles a 16-inch pizza with at least two toppings, or a specialty pie, together with a 2-liter soda and a free gyro. If you are feeding a group after work, that combo is the best value on the board.

The specials page is dated by the day, so the offers shift. Look at it before you order online, since the lunch and evening combos are separate from the regular menu prices listed above.

Rockboy leans heavily on takeout and delivery, and the site promises that late-night pizza should be hassle-free and hot when it gets to you. You can order online through the website for pickup or delivery, call the shop, or walk in. The shop also offers catering and private parties for larger groups, with a contact address for orders on the website.

The best moments to walk in are the quiet stretches between the end of dinner and the bar crowd, and again in the deep early-morning hours when only a few people are around. On Friday and Saturday nights, ordering ahead online saves time if you are coming from a bar nearby, and a thick Sicilian slice travels better than a thin one if you plan to eat at home.

The shop is a short walk from the Eighth Street Metromover station, part of the free elevated people mover that loops through Brickell and Downtown. Riding the Metromover at night is an easy way to see the skyline from above, and the Brickell loop connects to Brickell City Centre, the large open-air shopping complex with its covered walkways and restaurants.

South along South Miami Avenue, Mary Brickell Village is a cluster of bars and restaurants around a small plaza, popular on weekend nights. To the north, the Miami River separates Brickell from Downtown, and the Riverwalk along the water is a pleasant stroll with views of drawbridges, boats and the towers on both banks. Brickell Avenue, lined with high-rises and the bay just behind them, runs one block east.

Address: 30 Southwest 8th Street, Miami, FL 33130, in Brickell. Hours from the official website: Sunday to Thursday 11 am to 5 am, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 6 am. Prices from the official menu: Sicilian slice $7.49, build-your-own 12-inch pie $13.99, 18-inch pie $19.99, specialty 12-inch pie $19.98, garlic knots $1.49 each, empanadas $5.99, ten wings $17.99.

Ordering: walk in, call, or order online for pickup and delivery, and look at the specials page for the weekday lunch deal and evening combos. Getting there: the Eighth Street Metromover station is the closest rail stop, and Brickell Metrorail station is a short walk away. Street parking in Brickell is metered and limited, so the Metromover or a rideshare is the simplest option late at night.